Polar Bear is Not a Dip: Memories and Green Lake Polar Bear Poetry Plunge (includes Video)

It was, I think
New Year’s Day, 1971
When I stood on the brink
Of a frozen, sub-zero Lake Michigan.

I, then just a teen,
Dove in for the lark
Didn’t know what it’d mean
On the shores of Doctor’s Park.

Now, decades have past,
And I, a much older, wiser man
Have returned again, at last,
To take the plunge while I still can.

So why do I again come freezing
On a cold, sunny winter’s day
With nose running, lungs wheezing?
Because I have something to say!

It’s life’s lesson learned taking the plunge
Decades past, at 10 below
Run in, leap, dive, lunge!
Don’t take it slow! Go. Go! GO!

Here is the video of this poem

Here is the video of the entire group:

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